Photographed in and around the agricultural lands south of Milan, Beyond the View is a visual response to the ‘hidden’ presence of women in this rural environment on the edge of the city. Within this context, Sear develops her interest in the presence of women within the clichés of landscape and portraiture.

Helen Sear’s practice can be characterised by her exploration of the crossover between photography and fine art, and her focus on the co-existence of the human, animal, and natural worlds. Her practice has developed from a fine art education in performance, film and installation work in the 1980’s and is rooted in an interest in Magic Realism, Surrealism and Conceptual Art. With photography a central subject in her work she often challenges the dominance of the eye and the fixed-point perspective associated with the camera lens, placing the viewer in intriguing new relationships with the image. With an exemplary track record for producing conceptually rigorous work, she incorporates photography sound and video within a sculptural context, exploring the potential of the artwork to activate and elicit feeling. She represented Wales for Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice with a solo exhibition at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, reinforcing critical acclaim for her work internationally.